1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for controlling a welding process or a welding current source using a consumable electrode, in which a welding process adjusted on the basis of several different welding parameters and controlled by a control device is carried out by a welding current source after the ignition of an electric arc.
The invention further relates to a welding apparatus including a welding current source, a control device and a welding torch, wherein different welding parameters are adjustable via an input and/or output device provided on the welding apparatus, or via a remote controller.
2. Description of Related Art
In the known welding processes, all parameters are adjustable via an input and/or output device provided on the welding apparatus. In doing so, an appropriate welding process such as, for instance, a pulse welding process or a spray-arc welding process or a short-arc welding process is selected and the parameters are adjusted accordingly. In addition, it is frequently also possible to select an appropriate ignition process for igniting the electric arc. If the welding procedure is then started, the adjusted welding process, for instance a pulse welding process, will be carried out upon ignition of the electric arc by the adjusted ignition process. In doing so, it is possible to vary the different parameters such as, for instance, welding current, wire advance speed etc., for this selected welding process during the welding procedure. Switching to another welding process, for instance a spray-arc welding process, is, however, not feasible. In that case, the just performed welding process, for instance a pulse welding process, must be interrupted and another welding process, for instance a spray-arc welding process, must be initiated by accordingly making a new selection or adjustment at the welding apparatus.
US 2002/153363 A1 relates to a welding method that allows even extremely narrow welding gaps to be optimally bridged and good welding qualities to be achieved. To this end, the melting rate of the welding wire in respect to the conveying speed is changed to enable the control of the heat distribution of the changing the welding parameters such as the welding current or the wire conveying speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,515,259 B1 is directed to a welding method for aluminum, in which the heat of the electric arc is controlled via welding parameters such as the pulse form, pulse width or leading edge of the welding current. This serves to improve the welding quality in aluminum welding.
Finally, JP 04-197579 A discloses a welding method in which preheating of the material by a current fed through the welding wire takes place in the starting phase prior to the generation of the electric arc. The described method merely refers to the starting phase of the welding process.